Week 15: Attend a Wildfire-Focused Community Event

This week, I attended a wildfire-focused community event — a session of the 2025 “Living with Wildfire” Town Hall Series.

The event was presented by the Colorado Springs Fire Department (CSFD), and representatives from the CSFD Wildfire Mitigation Team, Colorado Springs Police Department, El Paso-Teller County 9-1-1 Authority (Peak Alerts), Colorado Springs Utilities, and Pikes Peak Regional Office of Emergency Management were in attendance. Short presentations were given by each entity highlighting different things that community residents can do to prepare for wildfire now. Additionally, each organization had a table set up with flyers and opportunities to learn valuable information about fire risk, preparation, mitigation, and response.
 
CSFD has offered town halls tailored to different parts of the city for quite some time, but I found it really interesting that they have begun holding sessions focused on the neighborhoods adjacent to the eastern side of the town — the prairieland. Have you heard the term “wildland urban interface” or “WUI” before? CSFD shared the term “prairieland urban interface” or “PUI.” This is one I had not heard but, having studied and performed research on wildfire-prone areas impacted by grass fires, I fully support discussing and sharing the idea and risks of living in the PUI.

I’m pleased to report that, since I began this #FirePrepFriday journey with all of you, I have completed nearly every task recommend by the event’s speakers. Meaning, if you’ve prioritized fire prep and worked through the tasks along with me, too, you’re also in a much better position before the next emergency. Way to go!
 
I highly recommend that you find and attend a similar type of event happening in your community. If there isn’t a town hall opportunity, then request an appointment with the local fire department to ask questions about how you can better prepare and mitigate based on where you live. And, who knows — you could end up being interviewed by the local news station after they notice you taking copious notes. Check out the article and video from KOAA News5 Colorado Springs.
 
Does your community hold wildfire-focused educational events? Tell me about them in the Comments.
 
Important Disclaimer: I am not a fire preparedness professional. I am merely sharing my research, opinions, and what I find that applies to my geographic and personal situations in hopes that it will help others. Please make sure that whatever steps and advice you follow are what is best for you

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□️□ It’s Week 15 of the #FirePrepFriday series. Does your community offer educational events to help you prepare for wildfire? I attended a CSFD Living with Wildfire meeting this week, and it was excellent. I was also interviewed by KOAA News5: www.koaa.com/news/wildfir...

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— Krista West, Ph.D. (@rsfirenerd.bsky.social) August 8, 2025 at 5:19 PM